Forced integration forever changed Madrona church

By VANESSA HO, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, October 1, 2003

On Easter Sunday in 1953, Gladys Eddleton put on her hat, her gloves and a good dress, went to church and wept. It was the last time she would sit in the pews of Grace Presbyterian in the Central District.

The Presbytery of Seattle had decided to merge her church -- the only black Presbyterian congregation in the state -- with a white church nearby. Both churches had dwindling memberships, and the presbytery thought racial integration was a good idea.

But the move devastated Grace. Members had a week's notice before being forced to leave their building to worship among hostile whites at Madrona Presbyterian, a half-mile away.

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"We had no discussion about it," recalled Eddleton, now 91. "While all the other churches were singing joy to the world, we were in tears, because that was our last Sunday."

But 50 years later, the presbytery will formally apologize in a reconciliation service this Sunday, as part of a financial redress. Boyd Stockdale, presbytery executive, said the forced merger of the '50s was misguided.

"We see that was wrong," he said. "That was flat wrong. We want this church to do well. We want it constantly to be the memory for us to learn how it is we end racism."

After the merger, the presbytery also made a series of broken promises. After it sold the Grace building at 22nd and Cherry, it promised to give proceeds to members at Madrona. Instead, it used the money -- $6,000 -- to help buy land for a new church in Mercer Island.

Also, Eddleton said the presbytery promised the Grace pastor a position of leadership. It never happened.

"It was really a very unhappy time. We thought we could fold our hands and say, 'We'll just go,' " she said.

But she and others stayed at the Madrona church and watched most of the white members quit. The church became a predominantly African American congregation and a target for mistreatment.

The presbytery withheld money for much-needed repairs. It appointed a series of pastors, some of whom were inadequate. It assigned three disciplinary commissions to investigate wrongdoing at the church. Nothing was ever proved.

But three years ago after the church's longtime pastor retired, Stockdale met with members. For the first time, he heard the painful chapter in the church's history.

"That's when we sat there and said, 'Oh, whoops. We've got some work to do,' " he said.

He relayed the story to Dale Sewall, the pastor at Mercer Island Presbyterian. It was news to Sewall, and he and his congregation wanted to help.

His church, through an account set up by the presbytery, has given Madrona nearly $30,000 for a new roof. It has also committed $50,000 over five years for renovations to the 92-year-old building at 832 32nd Ave. The presbytery has also given the church money for a new furnace.

"But what that ignores is there was damage done to the Madrona congregation, and we benefited from it. ... And they continued to struggle, and we blossomed.

"That's the way racism works in America right now. White people don't have to know anything about what's going on, and we still benefit."

For Eddleton, the redress and apology bring mixed emotions. It comes too late for most people -- she's one of only four people who belonged to Grace and are still living. It also re-opens a sad time in her life.

After decades of distrust, she wondered: "Why now? Why didn't you do something 50 years ago?"

But she welcomed the amends. She said Stockdale is the first executive to take the church seriously and that Mercer Island has been "extremely gracious."

Madrona's pastor, Flora Wilson Bridges, wondered what would have happened to Grace, if the presbytery hadn't abused it. Would it have flourished into a large, vibrant African American church, such as Mount Zion Baptist or First A.M.E.?

Her congregation now has 48 members.

"When you break a congregation's back and keep your foot on a congregation for 50 years, it is an inspiration to see how the ones who were able to hold on held on," she said.

So why did Eddleton, a longtime executive secretary in the presbytery, stick around all these decades? She was raised in a devout Presbyterian family in a small town in Virginia, and the reason was simple.

"Cussedness," she said, allowing the droll, tough side of her to emerge. "Sometimes, you do things in spite of."